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The Science of Virality - Marketing Lessons from Internet Cats

The Science of Virality - Marketing Lessons from Internet Cats: Professor Jonah Berger researches marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. But he’s not studying the science of advertising or market research. He’s asking a more modern question: “What makes ideas viral and products spread contagiously?”

Even New York Times writers assumed that, of course, the answer would be “to write anything about sex,” or “to title articles ‘How Your Pet’s Diet Threatens Your Marriage,’ and ‘Why It’s Bush’s Fault.’”

But when Jonah Berger and his colleagues analyzed New York Times emailing behavior for three months, they uncovered some unexpected results. While these three traits of viral content shouldn’t be all that shocking:

Surprising
Interesting
Intense
The next two discoveries might be a bit more eye-catching:

Positive
Actionable (practically useful)
Remember, this was an analysis of a news website, where the headlines are all doom and gloom and the stories are about other people, not us. While the intensity of emotions had a lot to do with whether the content was going to get shared, the most shareable content elicited strong positive emotions, like awe, and offered practical advice.

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